WEDNESDAY’S CIF-SS BOYS WATER POLO SEMIFINALS

DIVISION 1

CORONA DEL MAR (23-6) VS. MATER DEI (29-0)

Site, time: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, 7 p.m.

TV: Time Warner (delayed, Friday, 10 p.m.)

Outlook: Top-seeded Mater Dei has again handled all challengers this season, including Corona del Mar. Mater Dei defeated Corona del Mar, 13-5, in a nonleague match Oct. 13. The Sea Kings opened a 3-1 lead before the Monarchs scored 10 consecutive goals. Corona del Mar

dropped extra defense to mark powerful Mater Dei center Jon Walters (team-high 120 goals) but attackers Kent Inoue and Phillip Tran took advantage of the open space on the perimeter. Inoue and Tran combined for nine goals for Mater Dei. Fifth-seeded Corona del Mar has improved since the game and is riding a season-high nine-game winning streak, including a title at the Memorial Cup on Oct. 27. Mater Dei, the two-time defending Division 1 champion, has won a Southern Section-record 77 consecutive games. The Monarchs also have claimed 18 consecutive playoff matches, a stretch that includes Division 2 titles in 2009 and 2008. Both teams have excellent size. Mater Dei goalie McQuin Baron, a 6-foot-8 junior, can be a difference maker. Attacker Reid Chase leads Corona del Mar with 82 goals. The Sea Kings won the Division 2 title in 2010 and fell in the Division 2 final last season. They last appeared in the Division 1 semifinals in 2009, falling to Newport Harbor, 14-10.

In the other semifinal, Long Beach Wilson plays Loyola of Los Angeles at 5 p.m. at Woollett.

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